Billy Joe McCombs is better known as “Red McCombs” was an American businessman who was the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, and was a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications.
Born in West Texas, United States, he gained the nickname “Red” through his hair color. McCombs served as chairman of the trustees at Southwestern University and chairman of the University of Texas’s M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
McCombs served as a member of the Alamo Endowment Board, which raises funds for the preservation and management of the Alamo Mission in downtown San Antonio.
He was a one-time owner of many businesses such as the San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio Force, Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
The San Antonio Express-News reported in 2012 that McCombs’ net worth at $1.4 billion. He was ranked the 913th richest man in the world.
McCombs was married to Charline Hamblin from 1950 until her death on December 12, 2019.
He died in San Antonio on February 19, 2023, at the age of 95.
How much did Red McCombs buy the Vikings for?
McCombs bought the Vikings in 1998 with the sum of $250 million.
Why did Red McCombs sell the Vikings?
Red McCombs sold the team to the Wilf family for $600 million in 2005 at the time he was frustrated to secure a new stadium.